<h4>Chapter 105: Chapter 106 me Game</h4>


    Violet’s phone went off like a fire rm.


    The lockscreen filled up with pop-ups—DMs, tags, mentions, every single one glowing red.


    She set it to silent with a flick of her thumb, but her hand was shaking.


    ‘Vanna, I—’


    ‘Don’t bother,’ Savannah snapped. ‘Just tell me this: are they lying? Did you copy that set or not?’


    Violet’s mouth moved, but the sound barely came out. ‘Let me exin.’


    ‘Then exin!’ Savannah shoved the phone in Violet’s face. ‘The photos are out now. Roux & Luneunched their products three years ago. Yours came outst week. Did you work for Roux beforeing to Nyx?’


    Violet gave a tiny shake of her head.


    ‘Do you happen to own Roux?’ Savannah held out a faint glimmer of hope.


    Violet shook her head again.


    ‘The designer at Roux, any rtion of yours?’


    Another head shake.


    ‘So, unless the idea was beamed into your head by divine intervention, how do you exin your design is identical to theirs?’


    Savannah’s face was murderous red. She looked ready to strangle Violet with her bare hands. ‘Speak!’


    Violet flinched. ‘I copied it, I’m sorry!’


    Savannah staggered back on her heels. ‘No.’


    ‘I didn’t have a choice! Eliza rejected every draft I sent. If we didn’t deliver something she liked, Nyx would’ve had to pay out the penalties.’ Violet looked pleadingly at Savannah. ‘I was trying to save ourpany. You understand, right?’


    Savannah wentpletely still.


    Violet nced around the office, seeking support. ‘Come on, guys. You all know what Eliza was like. And her agent kept calling me twenty times a day. I tried, I really did! But nothing seemed to make them happy. And you guys had to stay back and workte into the night to help. I had to do something.’


    ‘So you copied anotherpany’s design?’ Disapproval was evident in the tone of the colleague who spoke. ‘You thought that would solve our problems?’


    ‘Well, it almost did, didn’t it? The brand’s based in Belgium. They only have one store in Antwerp. Nobody outside the country has ever heard of it. It was so unlikely that anyone would find out. Eliza was getting rave reviews, and everything was fine until...’ Violet spun around, eyes pinned on me. ‘Until she leaked it.’


    ‘What?’ A dozen voices spoke at the same time.


    Savannah looked at me sceptically.


    ‘Yeah, Mirabelle knew,’ Violet continued, her voice growing stronger, louder. ‘She knew and kept quiet so she could screw me over. This is all her!’


    She shoved her phone in the air like it was evidence. ‘Look—look at the location tag on the original leak. It’s from Skyline City. Of course it’s her. It’s Mirabelle.’


    I didn’t even bother to roll my eyes. ‘There are ten million people in Skyline.’


    ‘But only one who knows both about Roux & Lune and my designs!’ Violet red at me. ‘Vanna, it’s her! She leaked the story, she ruined the whole thing! If she hadn’t run her big mouth online, no one would’ve found out!’


    Savannah frowned. ‘Is that true, Mira?’


    Violet cut in, ‘Of course it’s true! Vanna, just take her phone. You’ll see the login, the post uploaded from her ount.’


    ‘You want my phone?’ I snorted. ‘Get a search warrant.’


    ‘See? She doesn’t want to give it up because she knows it’ll expose her!’ Violet was growing more confident by the second. ‘You think I stole your spotlight. That’s what this is. You’ve been waiting for a chance to sabotage me.’


    She jabbed a finger at me. ‘You stared at my screen earlier. You stared at the pieces when they were boxed up and shipped off. You knew what was going to happen. That brand’s so tiny, only another designer would’ve recognised it.’


    She took a step forward, shouting now. ‘You didn’t care about the fallout. You just wanted revenge. You’ve trashed me, and now you’re tanking the wholepany!’


    Murmurs rippled. A couple of girls behind Violet were whispering and side-eying me.


    I barked out augh. ‘I’m tanking thepany? Did I hold a gun to your head and force you to giarise the designs?’


    Violet sniffled. ‘I had no choice. Eliza’s standards were insane. I didn’t want thepany to get sued.’


    ‘She’s not wrong,’ someone muttered. ‘Eliza made her revise the sketchbook like sixteen times. She was pulling out chunks of hair by the end.’


    ‘Oh, I see. So now she’s some martyr? If she was trying to save thepany, then everything could be forgiven, even giarism? Are you serious right now? You can study someone’s structure, but you don’t rip off their whole sp system, their gemstone orientation, their bloody pearl detailing.’


    I stared down the girl who spoke up for Violet until she shrank away.


    ‘I didn’t post anything,’ I said. ‘I noticed you copied the design, yeah, but only just now. I haven’t had time to go to the bathroom, let alone upload shit online.’


    ‘Liar!’ Violet was losing it.


    ‘Eliza’s face gets stered all over the inte every time she sneezes. Given time, anyone could have spotted the identical designs. It was bound to happen.’


    ‘No,’ Violet said, shaking her head stubbornly. ‘No one would recognise that brand unless they were looking for it.’


    She stalked over and grabbed my phone off the desk. ‘Just give me your phone! I’ll prove it!’


    I lunged after her.


    She dodged left, phone still in her grip.


    ‘Give it back. You’re out of your fucking mind.’


    ‘I have to check it!’


    I twisted her wrist so hard her bone might have snapped. She was forced to let go.


    Violet howled in pain. ‘You won’t do it because you’re guilty! If you’re so innocent, prove it! Show everyone your phone!’


    ‘I don’t have to prove anything. It’s you who—’


    ‘Enough!’